Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Argan, Inc. (NYSE:AGX) by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,340 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 82 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Argan were worth $237,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AGX. Truist Financial Corp increased its position in Argan by 76.2% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 12,552 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $918,000 after acquiring an additional 5,430 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Argan by 283.3% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 57,536 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $5,836,000 after purchasing an additional 42,527 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in Argan in the 2nd quarter worth about $3,166,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC bought a new stake in Argan in the second quarter worth about $2,628,000. Finally, MKP Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Argan in the second quarter worth about $878,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.43% of the company’s stock.

Argan Trading Up 11.4 %

NYSE:AGX opened at $157.84 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $107.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $83.91. The company has a market cap of $2.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.64 and a beta of 0.49. Argan, Inc. has a twelve month low of $39.74 and a twelve month high of $157.96.

Argan (NYSE:AGX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, September 5th. The construction company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $227.02 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $191.05 million. Argan had a net margin of 6.11% and a return on equity of 14.80%. The business’s revenue was up 60.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Argan Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 23rd were issued a $0.375 dividend. This is a positive change from Argan’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 23rd. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.95%. Argan’s payout ratio is presently 47.17%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Argan from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 29th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Argan news, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 10,000 shares of Argan stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.20, for a total transaction of $962,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 35,852 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,448,962.40. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Argan news, Director William F. Leimkuhler sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.20, for a total transaction of $962,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,852 shares in the company, valued at $3,448,962.40. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Cynthia Flanders sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.39, for a total transaction of $481,950.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,332 shares in the company, valued at $1,670,631.48. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 39,703 shares of company stock valued at $4,257,794 over the last quarter. 11.85% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Argan

Argan, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning, maintenance, project development, and technical consulting services to the power generation market. The company operates through Power Services, Industrial Services, and Telecom Services segments. The Power Services segment offers engineering, procurement, and construction, as well as designing, building, and commissioning of large-scale energy projects to the owners of alternative energy facilities, such as biomass plants, wind farms, and solar fields; and design, construction, project management, start-up, and operation services for projects with approximately 18 gigawatts of power-generating capacity.